God in Descartes's Philosophy

Essay # 59366

Philosophy > Epistemology
Philosophy > Religion

An analysis of the role played by God in Rene Descartes's philosophy.

784 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2005

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Rene Descartes's demonstration of God's existence. The paper contends that Descartes's skepticism and doubt should extend to an examination of whether or not God exists, but should not be regarded as the violation of taboos. The paper presents Descartes's ideas as a positive contribution to our knowledge and understanding of who we are and where we came from.

From the Paper:

"Descartes was a skeptic and is skepticism lies at the heart of his philosophy. Unlike us, he doubted, proved and then believed and never just accepted. It is thus that he refused to accept the existence of God as an issue of faith but set out to either prove, or disprove God's existence as he did regarding his own in the Second Meditation. Many have objected to, many object and many more will continue to express their disapproval of Descartes' skeptical doubts, especially as regards the existence of God. However, should we focus on that, considering that it is an especially sensitive topic with many, and were we both bold and objective, we would admit that there should be no taboos in the search for truth. If God exists, it can be proven through logic, providing people with solid foundations upon which to establish their beliefs. If God does not exist, however, and our belief in this existence is based upon weak grounds, then that too will be proven, giving people the opportunity to reevaluate their worldviews and redefining them according to objective knowledge rather than possibly distorted perceptions and misconceptions."